lundi 28 décembre 2015

Goodbye 2015: The Best of the Year

I won’t be sorry to say goodbye to 2015. Here in Paris, the year began
and ended in tragedy. Of course, like all things of beauty, perfume can be a
solace. Yet after the shock and horror, it’s been hard to channel quite the
same amount of enthusiasm into it as usual. Or even to muster up much desire to write. Whenever
work hasn’t been tying me down to the computer, I’ve felt the need to be with
people rather than putting in more hours at the keyboard. With deadlines piling
up and a nagging health issue requiring attention, the blog was the only area in
my life where I could cut myself some slack, hence my silence.

Meanwhile, the landscape of Perfumeland has shifted. With L’Artisan
Parfumeur bought up by the people who brought us One Million, the last nail in
the coffin of the pioneering niche brands has been hammered in. To be fair,
Puig does handle the unimpeachable Comme des Garçons, and L’Artisan hasn’t been
properly helmed for years. Still, the brand founded by Jean-François Laporte in
1976 as a reaction to the ascendancy of marketing will become a marketing-driven brand. And in dispensing with
Bertrand Duchaufour’s signature, the Catalan giant has purged the ur-niche
house of its last shred of soul. Let’s just hope Puig doesn’t cull too
many fragrances from the catalogue.

Of course, niche – the reason most of us became perfume geeks in the
first place – is still thriving. In the list provided by the Fragrance
Foundation France in view of the Experts’ Award at the 2016 French Fifis, I’ve
counted over 350 launches – that’s just the stuff sold in France -- for 110
brands, a full third of which I’d never heard of. And more than a dozen of
which put out 4 new scents or more in 2015: Atelier Cologne churned out a
whopping 10 new juices, as did Jo Malone.

On the whole, in the limited number of things I did spend some time with, I admit I haven’t found anything that’s
blown my stockings off. Still, there are a few launches I’ve loved, and one
oldie I’ve (re)discovered. Here they are, in alphabetical order…

Ambre Cashmere Intense (Parfums de Nicolaï)

Amber can sit a little uneasily on the liver when expressed in all its
fatty-waxy glory. Despite the scent’s “intense” qualifier, Patricia de Nicolaï
delivers a deliciously Parisian – i.e. measured
– interpretation of the note, dried up with iris and clove, and pricked
with enough black pepper to open up the accord.

Cannibale (Serge Lutens)

I’ve been dithering about including one of Lutens’ new “Section d’Or”
collection – one shouldn’t have to mortgage a kidney to smell good. Still, it’s
hard to turn up your nose at scents that are so quintessentially Lutens. Like
all the “Section d’Or”, Cannibale is
of a denser, almost resinous olfactory texture than the “bell jar” or “export”
collections. Charred rice powder and ashes of roses flutter over crackling
incense tears… the cannibal in question may well refer to the alchemical
process of digestion.

Cross of Asia (Orlov Paris)

In Cross of Asia, Dominique
Ropion says he’s done for ylang – a notoriously difficult note to treat as a
soliflore – what he’d done for tuberose in Carnal
Flower. Up close, this seemingly straight-up floral is a compelling oddball
that picks apart and reassembles all of the facets of ylang – including
intriguing salty, rosy and green apple notes. For the time being, the
Paris-based brand is only sold at Bergdorf Goodman in New York, but it’s well
worth seeking out.

Misia (Chanel)

Olivier Polge’s first composition as Chanel’s new in-house perfumer is a
deliciously retro take on the Paris
violet-rose accord. Lipstick and fur on heated flesh: Chanel’s first perfume
named after a woman not the founder
is the brand’s most carnal offering to date.

Nanban (Arquiste)

Am I influenced by Nanban’s
Asian inspiration? At the heart of Rodrigo Flores Roux’s chewy resinous incense
and amber accord, I can pick out smoked plum – as though a bit of Femme had been steeped in traditional cuir de Russie.

Narciso (Narciso Rodriguez)

One of the few 2015 mainstream launches most of my French perfume
blogger friends seem to agree about. To my nose, this creamy, gardenia-tinged
cosmetic notes is on the same area of the scent-map as my beloved Ylang 49: a rose-vetiver axis that is
faintly reminiscent of 70s chypres. I’ve been favoring the oil version, in
which the vetiver stands out more distinctly.

Ostara (Penhaligon’s)

With its splash of sap drizzling on a lick of honey, Bertrand
Duchaufour’s take on daffodil reads like a color-saturated, baroque descendant
of Jean-Louis Sieuzac’s masterful Dune:
a northern interpretation of solar
notes.

Tabac Tabou (Parfum d’Empire)

It was a bold move to launch a fragrance named after such a tabooed
substance – but then, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato is one of the industry’s
ballsiest noses. Matched with the hay and sap facets of narcissus, bolstered by
the mulled-fruit lushness of immortelle, the scent is not about smoke or ashes but
about the leaf.

Tellus (Liquides imaginaires)

Part of the “Eaux Arborantes” trilogy dedicated to trees – the brand’s
best to date, to my nose – Nadège Le Garlantezec’s Tellus uproots facets of perfumery materials usually expunged from
the palette. Smells of dank, mushroom, humus and dirt-smeared burrowing
critters… It’s the nose gone to earth. Primeval and oddly comforting.

Timbuktu (L’Artisan Parfumeur)

Last (in alphabetical order) but not least… despite being a decade old,
Bertrand Duchaufour’s interpretation of the Malian ritual of thiourayé was truly my scent of the
year. I rediscovered it while researching African-themed fragrances for Citizen K International. Its vetiver
backbone, slender as a blade of bison grass, holds up a grapefruit-to-smoke
vertical structure as satisfying as the best white wines. And somehow, wearing
it on alternate days with Mitsouko shed
light on both scents, showing Timbuktu as
a chypre and making the role vetiver plays in Mitsouko (in the current edp) more legible. Great perfumes, like
all works of art, yield different readings over the years. Thus, my 2015 Timbuktu is not the one I knew in 2005.
May 2016 bring many more such discoveries… And may Puig not discontinue this
rare gem.

31 commentaires:

I'm profoundly sorry that 2015 has been such a bad year for France, (and many other parts of the world unfortunately). Still very glad that you did make a list of your favourites for this year. Gladder even to see a mention of Ambre Cashmere Intense which is a recent purchase and love for me. I find it downright addictive. I fully hope that 2016 may be a bit better than this past year!

I understand your reasons for 'cutting some slack' on the blog front, however, it's good to see you back. I still need to test Nanban, which sounds like it should be my thing, but Arquiste are one of the hard to come by brands around here.

Yes, 2015 has been a disturbing year in many respects. I hadn't realized that Bertrand Duchaufour was no longer signing for L'AP, but it's been a while since I've been eager for their releases.

I'm very much looking forward to trying more of the perfumes on your enticing list. I liked Tabac Tabou very much, and it sort of restored my faith in the possibility of coming up with something really novel and deep with today's ingredients.

Another bright spot for me was Skive by Canoe Goods of Austin, Texas. This is a small line of modern leather goods hand crafted by Natalie Davis, who commissioned natural perfumer Jessica Hannah to create a perfume for the brand. I hope we see more from Jessica Hannah!

In terms of vintage perfumes, I found a bottle of Jean Couturier Kéora that is just so delicious. In terms of unaffordable crushes, I'll confess that mine is Roja Dove Diaghilev.

Above all, I'm wishing you health in 2016, Denyse. I've missed the blog and it's wonderful to see you back for this year end round-up! ~~nozknoz

Thank you for your kind words. I've never smelled Kéora -- I only know Coriandre by Jean Couturier. Intriguing! As for Diaghilev, why don't you break down and get the template instead: Mitsouko? Today's parfum version is quite wonderful, and to my nose better balanced that the Roja. But then, no one did it better than Jacques Guerlain. And I'm glad you love Tabac Tabou, it really impressed many journalists and bloggers when it was presented in September...

I do have Mitsouko in various forms and vintages, but it seems much more austere on me than Diaghilev. I probably need to find the right weather match for it, and also wear it on a day when I have time to pay attention. ~~nozknoz

For some reason the Roja felt like a copy of Mitsouko when I smelled it, but with its proportions all skewed. It's one of the few scents that actually made me angry.Perhaps it's changed since I tried it at the Ballets Russes exhibition at the V&A...

Yes, I've read that the current version is somewhat different from the original. It reminds me more of Amouage Jubilation 25 than anything else, but more animalic, lower level of aldehydes, no cumin that I can detect.

Anyway, Denyse, I'm taking your wise words to heart and will make it my New Year's resolution to give Mitsouko her due this year and spend time with the various concentrations and vintages that I've been hoarding. Will report back next year! ~~nozknoz

It's lovely to hear your voice again, Denyse. I hope your health is improving. Narciso and Tabac Tabou are both on my personal best of 2015 list and I am desperate to smell the new Serge's and Cross of Asia.

What a pleasure to see your words once again in the blogosphere! Do you write on perfume elsewhere so we can get our fix of your lovely prose when work and life take over again? Perfumewise I've spent 2015 a bit more focuses on what I've already got and working through some great samples from people like Vera Kern and Olfactive but also revisiting some more "mainstream" but harder to find perfumes when I'm in a big London store.

Thank you Maureen! Alas, what little I've been writing about perfume is in French and not online. It's lovely to explore one's own collection, isn't it? Sometimes I just feel so guilty to be neglecting what's already on my desk or in my closet, when it's got so much more to say to me...

Dear DenyseI am only now catching up with the blogs and am very happy to read your post for all sorts of reasons - mostly because I've missed your writing! Love your list - I absent mindedly sprayed the Ambre Cashmere when I was in the London PdN store before Christmas then spent a long while wondering who smelled so wonderful ;). I am still wrapping my nose around Tabac Tabou but am looking forward to some Spring weather when I will wear Ostara (a mini roll on purchased cheaply from TK Maxx - joy). However I just met Nanban a few days ago and was smitten. I keep telling myself it's nothing new, I've likely got a couple of similar scents already and yet the saffron and osmanthus tinged coffee/spice incense combo has me hooked.Happy New Year - you and Paris deserve a much better one than last....HugsNicola

Dear Nicola, I'm not suprised so many of our picks coincide ! I'm having a mini Ambre Cashmere binge right now. It may not be the most searingly original scent in the world, but it's just so perfectly poised !An a happy new year to you too, with hugs,

Clare Obscure. Hi Denyse. 1st visit to your Grain de Musc blog. I've enjoyed your comments on 2015 perfumes and will be sampling a few you have mentioned. Love your style & hope you will find time and better health to continue with this blog as 2016 blooms into summer.

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Denyse Beaulieu

I am a writer and translator based in Paris, as well as the perfume editor for Citizen K. My book The Perfume Lover, A Personal History of Scent is published by Harper Collins (UK), St. Martin's Press (USA) and Penguin (Canada). The perfume linked to the book,Séville à l'aube, was composed by Bertrand Duchaufour for L'Artisan Parfumeur.